Book Post 2 – A Queen with no Kingdom

Aelin is having a bit of a dilemma. You would assume that the last surviving heir to one of the biggest kingdoms would be welcomed to her throne with trumpets sounding, people dancing, and soldiers parading but nope! They hate her. Or at least the Lords of Terrasen do, and they’re really the only ones with opinions that matter when it comes to politics. When Aelin was a young princess, her parents were assassinated and she ran away with the help of her mother’s maid who sacrificed her life to save Aelin. Growing up, Aelin kept her identity a secret a changed her name, becoming the “greatest assassin” in all the lands. Now that she is grown and has gained her powers back — yes, she’s magical too — she is ready to reclaim her overthrown throne. (This is the fifth book in this series so I’m just trying to provide some kind of background). So Aelin and her “court” — it’s really just made up of her friends and cousin — return to Terrasen and plan a meeting with the Lord who apparently holds to most power. He actually has the guts to say to her, “You can hardly expect us to allow a nineteen-year-old assassin to parade into our kingdom and start yapping orders, regardless of her bloodline” (Maas). This girl could kill him with a single thought — thanks to her control of flame, no big deal — and another one in the room could do the same — by simply controlling the air and letting him suffocate… really, this is simple stuff. But the Lord refuses to give Aelin the throne just because her name is Aelin Ashryver Galathynius (please don’t ask for pronunciations). Does he want it for himself? From the way he is acting, I would say yes. He has likely been powerful for a very long time but always out of reach of the throne — until now. The evil king who had been controlling Terrasen is dead (Aelin’s doing) so the Lord is likely to take this opportunity to seize the crown for himself. I don’t know why I expected it to be easy for Aelin to claim her crown — nothing ever is for this girl.